robotwarsfandomcom-20200215-history
Dead Metal/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem
Dead Metal was a House Robot which appeared in both runs of Robot Wars, originally designed to resemble a mechanical scorpion. He was armed with a set of pneumatic pincers and a 3,000rpm circular saw, the latter weapon mounted on either an overhead arm (Series 1-2) or a moving 'head' assembly (Series 3 onwards). Dead Metal's primary method of attack was to first grab hold of a competitor robot, then cause damage to it with his saw, which would either swing down or slide forward as part of the 'head' assembly and cut into components closest to the weapon's trajectory. Dead Metal, along with the other four House Robots used at the time of Series 3, appeared in the first Robot Wars video game, Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem. All five would subsequently appear in every video game released up until the end of the show's original run. Appearance and Armament Metal Mayhem's depiction of Dead Metal roughly maintains the shape, exo-skeleton and weaponry his real-life counterpart had at the time of Series 3, the series in which the game is set. However, due to the graphical limitations offered by the Game Boy Color, the arena and competitor/House Robots could not be as detailed as in later video game releases, resulting in Dead Metal's appearance being significantly altered in comparison. The most noticeable difference concerns his in-game colour scheme, which is grey, pink and red instead of all-over grey as on the real robot. Although the reason for this change is unknown, it should be noted that the real-life Dead Metal was originally planned to be painted pink, to match his lobster-like appearance, before this idea was decided against ahead of his debut in Series 1. Dead Metal's colour scheme in Metal Mayhem was not replicated in any of his appearances in later Robot Wars games. Despite his altered colour scheme, the Metal Mayhem depiction of Dead Metal remains distinguishable as his real-life counterpart, and is positioned in the bottom-right Corner Patrol Zone (CPZ) in arena-based modes. His pincers are visible, and continually open and close during battles. Due to the Game Boy Color's graphical limitations, it is sometimes difficult to identify where his saw is mounted on the robot itself. However, Dead Metal's rear three-quarter sprites display a pink line protruding from the front end immediately behind the pincers, indicating that the saw is mounted on the head assembly used at the time of Series 3. As the pincers close, various grey and pink lines can be also seen thrusting out of Dead Metal's front end, implying forward movement from the 'head' assembly - the only instance where this is depicted in any Robot Wars video game. There are also several other grey lines on Dead Metal's back, presumably representing his wheels, his rear end or the spikes on his exoskeleton. When attacking competitor robots, Dead Metal simply opens and closes his pincers while thrusting and retracting his saw, damaging the competitor robot which comes into contact with him. He also follows competitor robots around his CPZ to attack them. Dead Metal, like the other House Robots in Metal Mayhem, turns to face competitors as they pass his CPZ but do not enter it. Differences from Real Life *Dead Metal is coloured grey, pink and red in the game - similar to one of the real robot's original designs - rather than grey all over. *Dead Metal's pincers open and close continuously, unlike in real-life. Category:House Robots in Metal Mayhem